


Tarte Tatin

by YaBoiBellabean



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:15:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23488186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YaBoiBellabean/pseuds/YaBoiBellabean
Summary: While on his way to Boulangerie Patisserie, Adrien found himself scrolling through Marinette's Instagram feed and accidentally double tapped a photo that was well over a year old. Well shoot. He didn't want to look like a creep.adrienette
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 30
Kudos: 153





	Tarte Tatin

Adrien pulled out his autographed copy of Jagged Stone’s album, ‘Rock Giant’. “What do you think, Plagg? Should I have Marinette sign this too since she designed the cover?”

Plagg didn’t move from the blue scarf draped across the back of Adrien’s couch. He didn’t really have an opinion on the matter. “If you want her to.”

Laying down on the couch next to Plagg, he held the album up and stared. Marinette was a very talented artist across many mediums. For a moment, he wondered if she’d think it was strange for him to ask for her autograph. Even though she had a wall covered in his pictures, _for inspiration of course_ , she had never once asked him to sign anything. 

He exchanged the album for his phone and began lazily scrolling through his Instagram feed. Nothing in particular caught his attention. Maybe he’d make up an excuse to get out of his house and _do_ something for a change. After mulling over a hundred different excuses, he slipped both the album and Plagg into a black messenger bag and made his way to the foyer of the mansion. “Nathalie?”

She adjusted her glasses and gave a small nod. “Adrien.”

“I need to go out. I promised Marinette that I would try on one of her designs for an upcoming school project we are doing together.”

“Try on a design for a school project…?” Nathalie raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. 

“Yeah. It’s for a presentation in our literature class. It’s a costume. She needs to make adjustments.”

Nathalie’s shoulders dropped and immediately, Adrien knew she was relenting. She redirected her attention to the bodyguard. “Have him home by eight.”

“Thank you, Nathalie. It means a lot.”

“Next time, please make us aware of school projects ahead of time. Your father will not be pleased.” She adjusted her glasses again and pressed her clipboard to her chest.

“Of course, Nathalie. Thank you!”

When he slid into the black leather seat of the car, he pulled out his phone and opened up Instagram once more. The page refreshed and at the top was a picture of tarte tatin, posted by none other than Marinette. He opened up her account page and scrolled through her feed, a small smile gracing his lips. She frequently posted pictures of her baking, fashion designs, and her artwork, with an occasional best friends selfie. One in particular of Marinette, Alya, and Manon caught his eye; they all looked so happy, especially Marinette. Upon closer examination, he noticed that it took place in the park near Marinette’s house and that he was in the background, presumably busy with a photoshoot. Was that the day that Stormy Weather had attacked? He tried to zoom in to see what he was wearing and a bright red heart flashed on the screen. Adrien’s eyes widened as he realized he’d managed to double-tap the photo and a sense of pure mortification set in. This photo was posted well over a year ago and now he looked like he was creeping on her---which he most certainly wasn’t. She was his _good friend, Marinette_.

The car pulled over near the bakery and Adrien swallowed a huge lump of anxiety building up in his throat. Why, of all days, had he decided to escape from his room to go to her house and why had he opened up her Instagram and _why_ had he scrolled through her feed? 

Stiffly, Adrien got out of the car and approached the bakery doors, a feeling of impending doom setting in. How would he explain to Marinette? Maybe he could say that he’d seen her tarte tatin and wanted to see what else she baked? But no. That wouldn’t explain why he’d accidentally liked a photo of her and Alya and Manon. 

“A-Adrien?”

Abruptly pulled from his thoughts, Adrien realized he was inside the bakery and a flour-covered Marinette was standing before him. “H-hi.” He nervously cupped his hand to his shoulder and averted his gaze. “I, uh, needed to get out of my room.” Looking up, his emerald eyes met her bluebells and he apprehensively flashed her a smile. “I thought that if I told my father I had a school project with you, I could get away with having a snack from the best bakery in town?” It came out as more of a question than he’d intended. He needed to stop being so nervous. There was no reason to be embarrassed, he told himself. The fact that she was covered in flour probably meant that she hadn’t seen his mistake yet.

Marinette let out a forced laugh and scratched the back of her head. “What interest can I interest you in---I uh mean what kind of bakery did you want? Pastry. I meant pastry.”

“Did you make the macarons?”

A light blush crept across Marinette’s cheeks and she nodded. “Y-yeah. I made them. I’ve been helping my parents after school because business has been picking up.”

“Then, I will take the macarons. They look delicious.”

“Which flavor?”

Adrien smiled. Things weren’t weird yet. She hadn’t looked at her phone so he was in the clear. For now and maybe for his whole stay. Maybe he didn’t need to worry about anything until school tomorrow. He could probably come up with a great excuse by then. “I’ll take one of each!”

Carefully, Marinette unfolded a small, long box and filled it with a rainbow of macarons. Closing the lid, she passed the decorated box to Adrien. “How much?”

“There’s eight,” she beamed.

“I mean,” Adrien held up his wallet. “How much do I owe you?” The blush kissing her cheeks was clearly visible. Marinette was so adorable.

“Oh no! I mean no you don’t. They’re on me---not literally on me. I mean you don’t have to pay. This time.”

“Why don’t you go spend time with your friend? Your father and I can handle the bakery,” Sabine said as she walked into the main bakery area. She softly smiled, her gaze moving from Marinette to Adrien. 

“Oh no! I mean, Adrien is always so busy Maman. I don’t want to bother him!”

Did Marinette not want to hang out? “I mean, I don’t want to interrupt if you’re busy. I can go home.”

“I didn’t mean---I just thought maybe you were Nino---not that you ARE Nino but that you would want to spend your time with him.” 

“Actually, I wanted to hang out with you.” Suavely, Adrien ran his free hand through his hair. “I had a few questions I wanted to ask you.”

“Go on, ma chère.”

Gracelessly, Marinette removed her apron and nearly tripped in the process. A nervous grin spread across her face and she walked almost robotically around the counter and gestured for Adrien to follow her. Together, the two ascended the stairs into Marinette’s room. “Make this your home. No, I mean, please, make yourself at home.”

Adrien nodded and sat down on the chaise. He pulled his messenger bag open to find Plagg napping, curled around a small piece of wrapped camembert. Nimbly, he fished out the album and closed his bag back up. He looked back up at Marinette, who sat stiffly in her chair. “First, I was wondering if you’d sign this?”

Marinette’s eyes widened and her face became flushed again. She was adorable. “But why? I mean---yes---yes I will sign it.” 

“Thank you, Marinette.” He set the album down on the cushion next to him and returned his attention back to his friend. “You did the album art for this album, right?” Wide-eyed, she silently nodded; Adrien noticed her fingers curling tightly in her lap. Had she even blinked? She was acting so strangely. But that was Marinette in a nutshell, right? “And I also have a huge favor to ask. It’s kind of weird,” he scratched the back of his neck, a nervous chortle erupting from his throat. 

“W-what is that?” she stuttered.

Adrien’s eyes flickered to her phone laying on her desk; a green light was flashing at the top corner. “I’m embarrassed,” he paused. _But not because_ “I kind of told Nathalie that I was coming over to do a project for class. But not just a regular project. You see, my father knows you’re a designer and I know you’re a designer, so I thought that it was a good idea to suggest that maybe you were doing a fitting for a literature presentation for class?” Why did he phrase that as a question? Why was he feeling nervous again? The flickering light probably. That was definitely why. A wave of humiliation washed over him all over again.

“Oh no!” She stood up abruptly and began pacing back and forth. “I don’t have anything I’ve recently designed for men! I mean, I have a vest and I have a paperboy hat, but that’s all I have that might fit you unless you want to wear a dress.”

Adrien smiled warmly. That would be good enough. Just a photo of him in a vest and hat; he could claim that he was supposed to supply the rest of the costume. “That should work! Thank you, Marinette. You are a life-saver.”

Adrien watched as she opened the closet to retrieve the hat and vest. A circular red container peppered with black polka dots at the bottom of the closet caught his eye. Was that…? There was no way. 

Marinette turned around with the black wool vest and matching hat in hand. “Here. Want to try them on?”

Swallowing a newfound lump of apprehension in his throat, Adrien took the vest and examined it. His eyes flicked from the vest to the red container in her closet and back to the vest. _Pay attention, Adrien_ , he told himself and held up the vest, noting the subtle embroidery and how nicely it was lined. “You are very talented, Marinette. Did you design this yourself?”

“Y-yeah. I made it a while back, for a project, you see. I was going to make costumes for a, uh, something Alya wanted to do. And then it fell through, you see, and it’s been in my closet ever since.”

His eyes darted back to the polka dotted container in her closet; did he see something red move nearby it? No. His eyes must’ve been imagining things. “It’s very beautiful. I’ve heard that vests are one of the harder projects to make in terms of sewing. They look so simple yet take a lot of skill to make.” There was definitely something subtly moving in her closet. There was no way he was seeing things. “At least, uh, that’s what I’ve heard.”

Marinette beamed happily. “If they fit, you can have them. Show them to your father. It’ll make your story more believable.” Her eyes shifted to the pictures of him on her wall. “I mean, you _were_ the inspiration for this project.” She gasped and covered her face in her hands. “Oh no! Oh gosh. Did I say that out loud? I didn’t mean to!”

“It’s okay, Marinette. You’ve already told me that you use my pictures for inspiration,” he kindly replied, rising to his feet. He took off his white button up and laid it down on the chaise behind him and shrugged on the vest. “Fits like I was meant to wear it!”

Marinette squeaked and averted her gaze. “Lucky, I guess.” 

Involuntarily, Adrien’s eyes fell back on the Miracle Box-esque thing in her closet. Was that the Miracle Box? Was Marinette Ladybug? There was no way someone as clumsy as Marinette could be Ladybug. 

“Adrien?”

“Huh?” He met her bluebell eyes and sheepishly grinned. “Sorry. Lost in thought.” When Marinette handed him the hat, an idea suddenly struck him. He put the hat on. “Can we take a picture together? For Instagram? If I post your work there, it could get some good attention, from more than just my father.”

Marinette stiffened up again and nervously nodded. Swiftly, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened up the camera app, adjusting it to front-facing mode. “Can I put my arm around you?” Again, Marinette nodded and let out a barely audible squeak as his hand gently landed on her waist. 

The two smiled as Adrien snapped the photo, making sure to get the red object in the background. He removed his arm and feigned a frown. “The lighting isn’t very good in this one. Can we move?” Once more, Marinette said nothing and nodded. They turned so that they were facing the window. Holding out his phone, once again Adrien wrapped his arm around Marinette’s waist and snapped a photo, carefully ensuring that the red object was not in the background. He opened his gallery and held out the photo for both he and Marinette to examine. “Not bad!”

A wide, contagious smile spread across Marinette’s face and Adrien couldn’t help but mirror it. Was Marinette Ladybug? Her eyes and her hair and that thing…

“Can you, uh, phone that to---I mean send that to my phone---Can you please send that to my phone?” she stammered, turning around to reach for her phone, notification light still flashing. 

With bated breath, Adrien nodded and turned back toward the chaise. He slipped off the vest and neatly folded it, but left the hat on his head; it went with his outfit very well. Finally, he released his breath, careful to select the brightly lit photo to send. Marinette squealed and it made the corners of his lips tug upward into a smile. 

“Can I post this on Instagram?” she excitedly asked, presumably opening up the app. He watched her face for any signs of realization that Adrien had liked a photo from over a year ago, yet nothing out of the ordinary came of it. Thank goodness.

“I was actually about to do the same.” As he opened his app, he took note of the time and sighed. It was almost time to go and he still hadn’t had a chance to examine the polka dotted thing in her closet. He sat back down on the chaise, picking up the album. “I’m a pretty big fan of your work, Princess.” Would she react?

“P-Princess?” she stammered, her eyes widening. “I-I just you called me Princess? Adrien Agreste called me Princess?! Oh no!” she gasped, covering her mouth. Her whole body slumped and she shook her head. “Did I just say that out loud? I’m going to die! I just said that out loud again, didn’t I? I’m so embarrassed!”

Adrien chuckled. Her reaction wasn’t proof enough that she was Ladybug; he imagined a lot of his fans would react similarly. Time to try something else. 

“Oh no! I am so sorry. The album.” She reached out and took it from his hands. He watched as she walked to his desk and quickly opened up the picture, zooming in on the object. It was hard to make out the details. He didn’t have much time left and now he needed to know. Curiosity was going to kill this kitty.

As Marinette motioned to hand the album back to him, he deftly turned his phone so it was face down on his lap. “Thank you. It means a lot to me, Marinette.” What could he say to get a closer look at that round thing in her closet? Nothing that came to mind that sounded completely inconspicuous. If he asked about more of her designs, maybe she’d open the closet space more, but that didn’t guarantee he’d be able to see the polka dotted container any better. “Are you a fan of Ladybug?” he finally settled on.

Her expression was briefly unreadable before she started fidgeting. “I mean, who isn’t? She saves Paris and heals people who have been akumatized!”

Gesturing toward her closet, Adrien asked, “Is that round thing in your closet inspired by Ladybug?”

Marinette drew in a sharp breath and she turned around and then back to him. She forced a laugh and shook her head. “That old thing? No, no. It was uh, it’s just a thing. A science project! No, not a science project. I’d better close my closet door! It’s just a thing my grandmother brought back from, uh, Indonesia. I just, it’s dumb. Just a jewelry box. Yeah. Jewelry box.”

A science project? Indonesia? A jewelry box? “I’m a pretty big fan of Ladybug, so I really like everything that has that pattern. Can I take a closer look at it?”

Vehemently, Marinette shook her head and slammed her closet door shut. “No! I mean, um, no. It’s private. I, uh, I keep my great grandmother’s jewelry in there and it’d be so embarrassing for you to see it.”

Embarrassing to see her grandmother’s jewelry? Marinette was a terrible liar, which helped confirm his suspicion. Adrien had no doubts in his mind that Marinette and his lady were the same person. “Oh,” he said, feigning dejection. His gaze turned back upward, meeting hers and a small smirk graced his lips. “Are you busy on Saturday?”

“No!” she exclaimed and, not for the first time that day, let out an uneasy chuckle. “I mean to say that no, I’m not busy. Alya is---”

“Busy with Nino,” he finished. “So, since they’re busy together, I was wondering if you’d like to get ice cream or go to the zoo or something?”

She squeezed her eyes shut, furiously nodded, and squeaked. “Yes!”

Adrien slipped the album back in his bag and smiled. “It’s a date then?”

Marinette gasped with delight and positively beamed at Adrien. “Do you mean that?!”

It was past time for Adrien to meet with his bodyguard. He was going to be scolded. At least bringing home the vest and hat would help his story---it takes time to make adjustments to fully-lined garments after all. He gathered his belongings and turned to face Marinette. “I do. But I’d better be going. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, Bugaboo.” With that, Adrien winked at a frozen Marinette and giddily retreated down the stairs.

**Author's Note:**

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> 
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